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By Greg Bartlett

Recent increases in fuel prices have made it very difficult for many shipping companies to maintain reasonable prices for their services and still make any profit. In the scramble to cut costs wherever possible to keep shipping costs down, a new technology was found to of tremendous assistance. GPS tracking makes it possible for shipping companies to locate the best truck for a specific load based on location, route to pick up, and delivery date. Surprisingly, many companies are finding that sending the closest truck is not the most efficient.

Through GPS tracking, dispatchers are able to locate every truck in a shipping fleet. They are then able to map out the most fuel efficient routing to get trucks to where they are needed for loading and then to their destinations. Many companies are finding, through tracking of their vehicles, it is always more fuel efficient to send the closest available truck. A variety of reasons can cause this to be the case, but the tracking devices do save a great deal of money on fuel.

Tracking of trucks also allows companies to track the number of hours per day that drivers are actually moving. This makes it more difficult for drivers to falsify their logs and drive more hours than they are physically able to maintain, thus reducing liability insurance costs for shipping companies. If drivers know that they are being monitored, they are far more likely to take their prescribed breaks and get adequate rest to be able to avoid accidents.

With fuel costs spiraling out of control, most shipping companies have had to find ways to reduce costs in an effort to keep their rates at a level that allowed customers to continue to use their services. Many different cost cutting ideas have been put forth, but among the most reliable and longest term money saving ideas is utilizing GPS tracking devices in all trucks. With GPS, dispatchers are able to plan and route trucks in the most fuel efficient manner possible for pick up and delivery of loads, even if it means that a truck further away from the pickup point would be more efficient than one very nearby. GPS monitoring of trucks also permits dispatchers to monitor how long trucks are in motion and contact drivers who are too tired to continue and make them take breaks. This allows for lower insurance premiums because it a proactive method of reducing the risk of truck accidents.